Family of slain teen condemns killer’s parole

The family of an Ayrshire teenager murdered by her ex-boyfriend have called for more action to be taken to identify victims of crime after her killer was released on parole.

Michelle Stewart, 17, was stabbed 10 times by John Wilson, then 20, in front of her friends after ending their relationship in the village of Drongan in 2008.

Wilson was sentenced to life in prison, but was released on license earlier this month after serving 16 years.

Although he has restrictions on where he can live, the family – who have campaigned for “Michelle’s Law” – claim he has shown no remorse, and have criticized the decision to release him.

Mitchell’s older brother Steven Stewart said: “There is no justice for Mitchell because nothing will bring him back. We are serving a sentence right now because he is on the move.”

“Murder should be life. It should be a life sentence and you won’t come back. It’s the worst crime that can be committed.”

During Wilson’s prison term the family was shocked to learn that he had been allowed to visit Ayr, close to where they live, while on temporary release.

She launched the Mitchell Law campaign to give victims a greater voice in parole hearings and to impose exclusion zones on former prisoners.

The Scottish Government has previously said it has amended parole rules to take greater account of the safety of victims, and exclusion zones can already be set as a condition for release.

The Stewart family believe their campaign has had some partial success.

Wilson is banned from entering Ayrshire without prior permission and has been told he cannot contact Mitchell’s family.

But Michelle’s brother Kenny says there’s still a long way to go.

“I think it’s important that people making these decisions take into account the impact of this on families,” he told BBC Scotland News.

“It’s easy to focus on that and it seems like everything is about giving them a better life and making sure they build a new life. For us, we forget about that.”

The family were informed on 15 January that the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) was satisfied that Wilson was no longer a threat to public safety.

When Wilson was sentenced, he was told he would have to serve a minimum of 12 years in prison before being eligible for parole, and he has now served four years more than that.

In a letter, the board said he would remain on license under local authority supervision for the rest of his life, and could be recalled to prison at any time if he breached parole conditions.

The board said it could not comment on individual cases but assessed each case on its own merits.

A spokesperson said: “The conditions are designed to help manage the risk in each case.

“The management of an offender in the community is a matter for their local authority supervising officer, who may request a variation of the license conditions at any time during the license period if there are good grounds for doing so.”

The Scottish Government stated that the decision on an individual’s release is a matter for the Parole Board.

A spokesperson said: “Their decisions are based on a clear risk assessment of any individual being managed safely in the community.”